The Bicket, Bickett, Becket, and Beckett surnames are all used interchangeably to some extent. There appear to be three major origins of branches carrying one of these surnames:

(1) Ayrshire in Scotland. There is a fairly well defined tree which originated in Ayrshire, with at least 20 different branches all shown to be related by Big Y testing with Family Tree DNA. This name appears to be a locative name, derived from Biggart, which would have indicated someone from the town of Biggar on a major trade route to Glasgow. Many of these branches used the 'i' versions of the surname originally, but have subsequently moved to the 'e' versions. This tree has been traced back genetically to the period before surnames were established in Ayrshire. Most of the work which has been done so far in this one-name study has focused on this Ayrshire tree.

(2) Southeast England. There is apparently a larger tree which originated in southeast England, with Thomas à Becket (1118-1170) being often viewed as one of its early members. However, to-date there has been no meaningful DNA testing to validate the genetic origins and relationships of many current branches which think they may be related to him. There are many published theories about the derivation of this Becket(t) name, including that it came from France. Members of these branches appear mostly to have used the 'e' versions of the surname, but there are also occurrances of the 'i' versions.

(3) Surnames adopted by previously enslaved individuals. There are apparently branches which are descended from previously enslaved individuals, with the assumption that they had been enslaved by members of trees (1) or (2) above, and had adopted their names as a result. We know that some of those members were slave owners. To-date there has been no meaningful DNA testing to validate the genetic origins and relationships of such current branches.

As mentioned above, the surnames BICKET, BICKETT, BECKET, and BECKETT are often used fairly interchangeably, and may all be considered variants of each other.

Spellings for the Ayrshire tree, occurring in early Ayrshire records, include: BECHET BECHOT BECKET BECKETT BEGGERT BICHAT BICHET BICHETT BICHOT BICKER BICKET BICKETT BIGERT BIGGER BIGGART BIGGERT BIGHOT BIRGET BOCHOT BOCKET.

All Ayrshire tree branches which have been identified go back to Ayrshire, in particular the area around Fenwick, Stewarton, Kilwinning, and Kilmarnock.

The Ayrshire family tree and its branches have humble origins at least back into the 18th century which is the farthest back to which most of the branches have been traced with reasonable certainty. Typical occupations at that time included farmers, weavers, shoemakers, bonnetmakers, and fleshers (or butchers). Only a few of our ancestors were rich enough to own land so that they appeared on tax records. Indeed, the primary reason for the emigration from Scotland of countless families including the Bickets apparently was the economic hardship of making a living in the area, in particular through periods of radical economic change caused by improved methods of farming which required less manpower, by the rise and fall of industries such as the textile industry, and by soaring population due to improved survival rates.

The origins of trees (2) and (3) described above remain to be researched.

Further information about the different trees and branches using the BICKET, BICKETT, BECKET, and BECKETT surnames is given in the Guild Member Website at https://bicket.one-name.net.

A DNA project has been set up for the BICKET/BICKETT/BECKET/BECKETT one-name study, with the intention of getting at least one male from each of the unlinked branches tested, to determine how and when they were linked.  The project is described here.  Further information is also given in the Guild Member Website at https://bicket.one-name.net. You can also get in touch with David Bicket (see below) for more information.